


Undersell Drabbles

by draken14142, Have, Lisiqe, MissWolfinger



Series: Undersell [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: But they are all surmountable, Depression, Everyone Has Issues, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, UNDERSELL, Vaccumm, Will tag characters as they are introduced, more tags to come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2020-05-15 06:35:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19290205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draken14142/pseuds/draken14142, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Have/pseuds/Have, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisiqe/pseuds/Lisiqe, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissWolfinger/pseuds/MissWolfinger
Summary: A collection of Undersell one-shots, word building, and drabbles. Any Explicit content will be identified in the title.This is the world in, around and outside ofVACCUMM





	1. Can’t Leave Yourself Behind

**Author's Note:**

> Vaccumm Chapter 1 - Sugar's Point of View.

Honestly, why can’t _anyone_ be bothered to read the end of day notes? 

Sugar came to work that day expecting… actually expecting was a strong word. HOPING that somebody would have taken his requests seriously. What was the point of him taking stock of what the store needed and leaving _highly_ detailed notes for his co-workers if his requests were never dealt with?

He was, of course, talking in particular about the replacement LED bulbs for the store’s sign outside. He noticed it flickering several days ago, on the verge of dying completely and had hoped someone might finally LOOK at his notes for once and buy the new bulbs. 

Sugar learned long ago that if the store needed anything, (stationary, ink, lube; because apparently _that_ was stockpiled in the back and needed frequent replacing) he and Creampuff or Blue would have to take care of it themselves. It seems lazy ran in the proverbial family across their brothers. That and a terrible sense of humor. 

Normally Sugar would ask to use a company card and take care of it himself, but both Creampuff and Blue had been out of the city since Tuesday at a training seminar. They wouldn’t be back until Sunday, so there was nobody else that could watch the store while he went out and bought the supplies. He had asked his brother too, but unsurprisingly he had yet to do it. 

Sugar arrived at Vaccumm a half hour early (he detested being late) to start on his opening routine; turn on the radio, sweep the floors, tidy up, and take inventory of any stock that the store needed (like those darn bulbs). He prided himself on having the store ready to be opened promptly at 8, looking its best. 

Sugar opened the stationery drawer to withdraw a pen and the daily tasks binder, intending to cross all the opening duties off the list. When he reached in his phalanges grasped, a napkin? It was most certainly fabric. Sugar lifted the item in question bring it closer to his face; his eyesight was rather poor and even with his glasses he needed to squint a bit to identify it. 

A red, lacy handkerchief? 

Oh. 

Gross. 

Was nothing in this place sacred? 

It was somebody’s undergarment. Sugar tossed it in the rubbish bin with a huff, lamenting his cousin’s utter lack of decency, and mourning the fact that the very real possibility existed that it was the doing of _his_ brother. While he was at it, he should lament the notion that this sort of thing no longer fazed him. Stars only know what sort of joy this kind of jape (if it could be called that) brought his family. And why they were relentless about tucking underpants in random places all over the office as if it was some kind of competition.

Morning turned to noon, and noon turned to evening. 

The only visitor to the shop had been the mail human dropping off a package for the bosses. Sugar promptly emailed them that their package had arrived safe and sound and that it was secure in the back room safe.

Another job well done!

Sugar sighed when 6 o’clock rolled around. These past few days had felt rather lonely. Normally there were two of them running the store each day, with this week being the exception. Not even his brother or any of his cousins had stopped by, which was odd; usually, at least once a day somebody would come to the shop, utilizing the break room or making a report. 

That’s not to say that he couldn’t handle things on his own. He was more than up for the task of course! He was the great Papyrus after all. Even if this world only knew him as Sugar. 

When it was time to clean up for the day, Sugar headed to the back room to file a report breaking down the day’s activities. He also took a moment to write on the communal whiteboard asking what kind of cupcake everyone wanted next week for Melt in your Mouth Monday. 

Red had coined the term some time ago, which was a bit odd since he doesn’t do much of anything, let alone bake. But Sugar thought it was a fantastic idea and brought it upon himself to ensure they all started off the week right with freshly baked goods. He’s been upholding the custom ever since. 

Happy workers are productive workers!!

RING

The familiar chime of the bell made Sugar put down the dry erase marker. Maybe that was his brother. Sugar had messaged him _again_ this morning reminding him about he bulbs that still needed to be replaced.

Sugar left the whiteboard and headed toward the storefront, picking up the office tool bag on his way and ducking under the doorframe. 

“Brother?! I hope you came back with the spare bulbs I asked you for. It’s been three days and - Oh, hello there human!” Sugar was both surprised and delighted to see a human in the store, even so close to closing time. “Welcome to Vaccumm. The best place for… all your. Umm. Sucking, needs…” Sugar thought the store slogan was a bit lacking but powered through it none the less. 

They smiled up at him, eyeing his suit. Nyeh! Sugar always put his best foot forward, and that included his professional attire. The human cleared their throat before speaking. 

“Hello, I’m in the market for a new vacuum. My old one is dead and I need to pick something up tonight.” They took a couple of steps toward the counter. 

“Splendid, you’ve come to just the right...” It took a moment for the humans request to sink in. Oh dear. “You mean to buy a vacuum from here. Right now?” The store practically being closed for the day wasn’t the problem here. The problem was that it was impossible for him to sell this human a vacuum cleaner at this store.

Sugar will never understand the bosses’ aversion to selling their product in the store. That was the point of _having_ a store for star’s sake. But door to door sales was the business model, and no amount of reasoning could persuade them otherwise.

“Yes?” They were frowning now. 

Sugar hesitated for a moment, unsure how to progress.

“You see. The thing is, we don’t normally have customers coming into the store looking to buy our vacuums. All of our sales are done within the customer’s home. Vaccumm is a door to door vacuum selling service. We don’t actually have the means to sell anything instore…” Sugar felt awful that this human took the time to come into the store thinking they could buy a vacuum here. Obviously, they had been misinformed, but Sugar was great at his job and knew how to handle the situation. “But, my brother is a fantastic salesman whose clientele have nothing but positive things to say about his services. I could give him your address and have him go to your home first thing tomorrow morning?”

The human seemed to need a moment to gather their thoughts. Was it just him, or did they look a bit nervous? 

“Well, umm. I work during the day and wouldn’t be home for long enough in the morning. If he came over at all it would have to be after 6:30. It’s just, I don’t know much about vacuums. I thought maybe if I saw them in person...” 

Oh, they were concerned about timing? Silly human, that was a non-issue. Unbeknownst to them, a very large portion of the company’s vaccumm sales were made at night, even after the store closed. Sugar leaned forward on the counter, ready to nail the sales pitch.

“That’s quite alright. We’re the experts here so you don’t have to be! And an evening visit would not be a problem at all! Our services are provided any time of day, any day of the week! We’ll even come to you during the holidays. Our passion is all about getting you the right product to fulfill your needs!” 

There was little to no doubt in Sugar’s mind that the human would not agree. “Ok? Umm, yeah. OK. So, you’ll be needing my address then?”

Yes! Success! Nyheheh, another flawless execution! “If you don’t mind!” Sugar couldn’t contain his happiness; proud at a job well done. Now he just needed to gather the relevant information. “My name is Sugar and it’s very nice to meet you human. May I ask you yours?”

Once their name, address, and visit time was entered into the clientele schedule book and the information was double checked, Sugar bid the human farewell, waving as they walked towards the door. “Thank you so much for stopping by today. Rest assured that my brother will take good care of you tomorrow!”

What a nice human.

“I should let Sans know.” 

Regardless of how long he and his brother spend in this foreign universe, Sugar couldn’t help but still use Sans’ real name instead of the nickname that was given to him. The nickname 'Sugar' suited himself and his hobby perfectly, and he was quite at ease with it, but the nickname everyone used for his brother….

Well, as long as it didn't bother _him_ , Sugar guessed it was ok. 

But, the name ‘Axe’ always reminded Sugar of the past, of the world they had survived; and it wasn’t a very pleasant past to think about. Those memories didn’t make him feel strong, as if he overcame some great obstacle. If anything, thinking about their old home and seeing all the different versions of himself and his brother, only served to remind Sugar how he was too far gone to be saved. 

His brother’s weapon had been left behind in their own home, and Sugar was so happy that in this world there was no need to replace it. “Axe” got to move on, and if anyone deserved to be freed from the Underground, it was his brother.

But for Sugar… 

He WAS the weapon of his past. His claws, his teeth, the traps he thought up… unlike the discarded, bloody axe, they remained very much a part of him. And while the Sans and Papyrus of this world did their best to rehabilitate him and help his appearance, it was never going to fix how Sugar now saw himself every day. He wanted to run from it, wanted to fight it, but you can’t leave yourself behind…

He just hoped his brother remembered him for who he once was. Not who he became.

Grabbing his phone he texted his brother through a cheery veneer. In the years they spent suffering Underground, Sans was so always so selfless. Day in and day out was spent waiting for a human to fall to keep his brother and their friends fed. Sugar saw how much his brother suffered; how much Sans was hurting to see his baby brother’s form twist and contort into something that better reflected the world they lived in. If he could do nothing else, Sugar would put on a brave face and smile as bright as he could, and scold Sans for his terrible puns, and pretend that everything was ok now, so Sans never had to know that every day, even here on the surface, part of Sugar remained trapped Underground.

It seemed Sugar was not above lying to his brother.

He removed his glasses and wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, clearing away the tears before they could form. 

Sugar always believed everyone could do better if they just tried. Tonight, he forgot to extend that same sentiment to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Hi Guys! Did you enjoy the premise that Undersell has to offer? Wanna see more? Head over to our Undertrash discord server!
> 
> We have some rules, we welcome minors and adults alike in this server but only people who are 18+ can request nsfw oneshots.
> 
> ~ASeaChelle
> 
>  
> 
> [Swing on by!](https://discordapp.com/invite/bEnJ4Z)


	2. I make a Very Handsome Skeleton.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black can't focus at the office so he's working at Muffet's cafe. 
> 
> And some human thinks they're funny.

Blackberry typed away furiously on his laptop, eyes scanning his surroundings. He was an extremely skilled typist and didn’t need to watch the screen as he worked. This allowed him to asses every patron that entered Muffet’s Cafe. Partially out of habit (monsters caught unaware often ended up as dust on the street) but mostly out of boredom. 

Black, of course, had his own office space; it was in the upper floors of the building that housed the Vaccumm storefront. But that space was shared with his brother. His brother who today was incessantly restless and needy and even more pathetic than usual. Black considered removing himself from the space as a service to his brother, who he was ready to toss out the fourth story window. 

Not that he would of course.

The window would be annoying to replace. 

No, if Black wished to be productive today he had to get away from Vaccumm and chose to take refuge at a popular bakery in the heart of the city. The black tea here was adequate (really, how could anyone mess up leaves and hot water?) and the wifi connection sufficient. It’s not the first time his brother annoyed him to the point of regressing back their old ways, but Black really did NOT want to go back to that dynamic ever again.

At least not physically. Black had no trouble calling his brother out on his annoying habits and lazy attitude. And as the older brother, it fell to him. Black only wished he knew the source of this brothers increasing unease lately. 

Normally he was quite focused while at work; sketching and designing whatever came to his mind in between actual work tasks for the day. During the beginnings of their careers with Vaccumm, when Black noticed his brother had a knack for design, he bought a sketchbook and pencil set, asking the Bosses to give it to him for good behaviour. 

Black wasn’t going to be caught dead gifting the Mutt himself for no apparent reason. 

And Mutt poured almost half of his workdays in those pages ever since. He even ended up designing the business logo (which made Black feel weird; like he was satisfied with an achievement, which was odd because it was not his own). Creating kept him busy, it kept him happy, and that in turn made Black…. less… pissed at everything all the time. This world’s dynamic still took some getting used to at times, but overall, he found everything to be less frustrating these days. 

But lately, Mutt didn’t touch his sketchbook. He paced around the office, sighing, fidgeting. Opening a window. Closing a window. Arranging every piece of stationery in the office on his desk by colour. And then by item. And then stacking them like a house of business cards and sticky notes…. Only to randomly push it all off his desk with one hand, like a stupid fucking cat would and it was enough to drive Black fucking INSANE. 

Black sighed and shook his head. He can worry about his brother’s _issues_ later. Right now, he had actual work to do. The decoy website for the store needed to be more functional so it looked less suspicious. Black was tasked with enabling the shop feature so people who stumbled upon the site could shop around, but all the stores “inventory” would be out of stock, and available based on when there would be a shipment from “our suppliers”. The Papyrus of this universe had some concerns about humans snooping around and asking questions. 

Black didn’t know why. That site specifically had no keywords tagged to it at all and he routinely checks to see that it would not show up during random searches for vacuums or cleaning supplies. Unless someone specifically searched for the store by misspelled name, which irked Black to no end (but did ward off those with even half a brain), no one would even stumble upon the site.

Oh well. Work is work. 

Black let the din of the noisy café fill his skull. It calmed his thoughts and let him slip into a peaceful lull. The task wasn’t challenging; it didn’t require him to troubleshoot or problem solve or be creative. It was just imputing code which he self-taught himself at the beginning of his time working for Vaccumm. It was Black’s condition for working for the company, that he would have some sort of office job. He would not be one of the whores. 

When Sans had pulled them into this world and made a job offer, he had been furious. All that fucking time-space shit, pulling him and his brother here AGAINST THEIR WILL, for a stupid job at their slut factory? He was livid. His brother, while more outwardly solemn than Black, was equally not impressed with the situation. 

It still pleased Black every time he walked by the now bunked elevator at work. His doing after flying into a blind rage after Papyrus informed him the machine was broken. That they were effectively trapped in a strange world for an indeterminate amount of time until it was up and running again. 

In the beginning, Black was despondent. He didn’t have the words to describe how it felt to be here. To be in the presence of… effectively himself, but different. Not to mention the _other_ variants of him that had all been pulled in at the same time. And to see what was, for all intents and purposes, his brother, but to see him… happy? Content? SAFE? It royally pissed him off to think there were versions of himself and his brother that never experienced killing a monster or the rush of gaining LV. That there are versions of themselves that didn’t lock the doors at night. Versions that let themselves laugh and play and take up stupid fucking hobbies like there weren’t people DIEING ALL AROUND THEM!!!!!! …. Because there wasn’t. There _wasn’t_ people dying all around them, and that was… good.

But also depressingly unfair...

Black revolted at that elevator with the full scope of his magic that night. 

Back at home, his home, they were still underground. Still waiting to harvest another human soul in which to break the barrier. Being on the surface now, humans everywhere, was nerve-wracking. Sans and Papyrus promised that the humans here, for the most part, were accepting of monster kind. And that this world was safer. After one angry, self-destructive week here, Black had to agree.

That was partly what made Black agree to work for them. He wasn’t getting home anytime soon and the idea of his brother being safer, of Black not stressing out every minute of his life wondering if today was the day his brother took one stupid, measly fucking hit and dusted. And he’ll never admit it, but it was a comforting thought that his brother would be ok here, and be able to finally have some semblance of a normal life. 

It wasn’t long before they both agreed that they would stay. Even if the machine ever got fixed, this world, as pathetic as it could be, was not without its charms and had started to feel a little more like a new home.

As Black went to take another sip of his tea he realized he was out. There was still a decent chunk of work left to do, so he’d be at the café for at least another 2 hours. This required more tea. 

Black arose and made his way to the line that had formed. The humans gave him wary looks, one even leaving the line as he approached. He just ignored them, knowing well that the scars on his face and his sour disposition was off-putting to them. It’s not like it mattered. He wasn’t going to change.

Black heard a hum behind him and the sound of a foot tapping on the floor. The energy of whoever was behind him felt overwhelmingly fidgety and reminded him of his annoying brother. He wanted it to stop. Knowing full well it’s not acceptable in this world to snap at people for no reason, Black turned around hoping to scare them into silence. 

When he turned, he was momentarily stunned. 

It was like looking into a human-shaped mirror. Both him and the human wearing a deep purple button-up shirt, collar neatly tucked up. A soft, light lilac belt adorned with a black lace designed held up shiny, neat looking dress pants which the shirt was tucked into. To Black’s amusement, they were both wearing the same matte grey heels and were the exact same height. 

“Well human, one of us is going to have to change.”

The human looked just as awed to see a monster wearing the same outfit but quickly regained their composure. “Ummm… _I_ was here first so…”

“False human, I’ve been here over three hours. And I’m ahead of you in line. You clearly just walked in. I’ll forgive your deceit this time; _if_ you admit you copied my impeccable taste.”

The human laughed behind their hand and then mumbled something Black didn’t quite make out. It seems the rest of the people in the line found their banter entraining; all eyes were on them. 

“Speak up human, I didn’t hear your groveling.”

“I said,” the human leaned closer to Black, “That I make a very handsome skeleton. Who knew?”

Shit, what? The human had a devilish look on their face. Confident, challenging. Black liked that look.

“Why hello Black, another tea for you then?”

Black quickly turned toward the counter, only noticing now that he was at the head of the line. Muffet, the store owner was waiting patiently, two of her eight arms crossed. “Yes, that’ll be all.” Black hesitated for a moment. “And whatever _this one_ is getting too.”

The human looked surprised. “Oh. Really Are you sure?”

“Yes, why would I offer if I wasn’t sure? Unless you _want_ to pay for your own drink. I really don’t care.”

“Right. Large dark roast, please. No room”

“Off to work again dearie?” Muffet inquired to human, leaning forward on one hand while two others busied themselves pouring drinks. Black had decided some time ago that he liked this Muffet better than the one from his world. She didn’t sling disgusting drinks down his brother’s throat until he passed out, forcing Black to carry his sorry as home. 

The human only nodded, still looking at Black, whose skull begun to take on the faintest purple hue under the scrutiny of their stare. 

Muffet stifled a giggle behind one of her hands and rang up the order, a smug smile tugging at her lips as two of her eyes winked knowingly in unison. “Five dollarsss pleasss.” Black pulled out ten dollars, telling her to keep the change in a tone he hoped came off sounding like _shut your fucking mouth you eight-legged wretch_. 

He took back what he thought about liking this one better.

Black moved down to the counter as the human followed him. “Thank you very much. You really didn’t have to do that.”

“I’m not an idiot human. I know I didn’t have to.”

“Yeah, someone as well dressed as you must surely be a man of impeccable taste and intelligence.” The human caught on quickly that stroking this guy’s ego yielded results. What _kind_ of results were still to be determined, but results none the less. “Unfortunately, I’m getting my coffee to go today, but maybe I’ll see you around here again?”

Black simply shrugged. “Maybe you will human.”

Black watched as their drinks were passed down to the bar and the human collected their black (disgusting) coffee.

“Thanks again for the drink _skeleton_.” Black huffed. Clearly, they were trying to poke fun at him. It bothered him less than he expected. They walked towards the entrance, looking back over their shoulder. “I’ll buy next time, ok”

Black didn’t respond. He just collected his mug and sat back down in his chair. The screen on the laptop had long since turned black. He was pleased to see the stupid colour had faded from his cheekbones. 

Black got back to work, focus drawn to the screen but only half paying attention to the code he was imputing. He was no longer occupied with the patrons of the little café either. 

He couldn’t help but think that he’d like to see that human again and teach them what a decent drink tastes like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good day everybody, and thank you for reading!
> 
> Black was tied for the highest number of requests so far and I figured a little snippet into his day would be nice. 
> 
> Please note that Black, like a good little asshole, doesn't care about his brother AT ALL >.>


	3. The Meeting (Pt 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans arranges a meeting with the human that was involved in the incident with Axe.

“leave me alone!” Sans whined loudly to himself. 

His phone was ringing. Again. 

It hadn’t stopped ringing for the past five minutes, but it was stuffed somewhere in the recesses of his briefcase under his large desk and he was on his lunch break and _dammit_ is nothing sacred in this place? Everybody knew lunch is his alone time. His self-care-so-don’t-bother-me time. The one window of time in his workday where, if it isn’t _excessively_ on fire or a matter of life and dust, then it can wait.

 _maybe five minutes of straight calls is an emergency though?_ Somehow he doubted it. 

Reluctantly Sans reached under his desk and grasped for the briefcase strap; pulling it up and dumping the bag unceremoniously in his lap before digging around for the buzzing ringing device. 

If Sans had to guess, he’d say it was Axe blowing up his phone. Word gets around fast here and he did just tell Comic this morning about his plans to arrange a very important meeting with the oblivious human who accidentally stumbled upon the store’s secret last week. Not that it’s really _much_ of a secret when Ebott City is filled with a vast number of thirsty humans and monsters looking for safe and discreet sexual outlets. At any rate, it’s well kept despite the number of people who know about it. And Sans wants to keep it that way.

It’s a shame that here on the surface when monsters were freed from the Underground, the Royal Harem was dissolved. In fact, any other overtly salacious monster organisations also disbanded after the ascent when monsters had to assimilate and adhere to surface customs. Many found themselves out of a job. Sans continued to operate in the shadows and the business remained lucrative because humans were very much creatures of desire. Prostitution was a hot topic on the surface and most certainly murky waters to traverse, but every soul has a mighty need for _something_.

Sans sighed as he pulled out his phone, confirming his suspicions to be true. It was Axe. And if he had to bet money on it, he’d say the call was about the human. No doubt Axe thought he was up to something, (which isn’t entirely untrue) but how peculiar that he cared enough to call him nonstop about it. _on my break, no less._

_definitely worth noting_.

Sans hoped Axe didn’t grow attached in their brief encounters. Though that seemed unlikely, since they knew each other for just over a week and had only met twice; but it would be bad for business if Axe got too deeply involved with one person. 

With a flourish of his phalanges, Sans answered the call. “axe, to what do i owe the pleasure of a call from you, and at _twelve nineteen i might add?_?” He sure hoped the annoyance in his voice was noticed, but if it was, Axe paid it no mind. 

“‘s not pleasure boss. it’s strictly business. i heard you’re planning on inviting that human from the other day to meet up with you. i was just curious as to why. i told you i handled the situation.” The emphasis Axe placed on the words ‘that human’ made to sound like Axe was detached. 

_that human eh?_ Sans slumped back in his office chair. _oh axe, you might be trying to act uninvolved but I know all of your tells; seeing as they are quite similar to mine._

“yes, and i commend you for what appears to be a job well done, but consider it company policy that i expect to follow up and formally apologise and in person.” Sans could hear the shuffling of a chair in the background and the sound of heavy steps pacing. “unless,” a smug grin tugged at San’s usual smile, “you don’t _want_ me to meet them.”

Axe cleared his non-existent throat. “nah, aint’ like that. i just don’t think you should waste your time on a closed case, ya know?”

 _interesting._

“how considerate of you to worry about my time. rest assured axe that i have plenty of it to spare, and i promise i’m not planning anything _too_ devious for your friend. 

Sans could make out the faintest hint of a growl. “they’re not my friend.”

 _liar._

“oh, good. then you won’t mind if i make my apology _physical_.”

Axe made no attempt to hide is growl this time. 

Sans half expected him to yell, cuss him out, argue. But Axe just took a moment to get his breathing under control before responding. 

Credit where credit was due. Axe (compared to some of their other counterparts), when he got angry, 90 per cent of the time he could keep it in check. Axe’s temper could flare up unexpectedly, (the guy had a helluva, heh, _chip_ on his shoulder) but it almost always fizzled out just as quickly as it came. And compared to the monster he was, the one Sans met almost two years ago, the guy had self-control in spades. 

Sans could practically see him fuming in some corner, posture rigid, shoulders tense and phone squeezed near to its breaking point as Axe thought about he wanted to say, instead of just lashing out. 

After a long moment and some deep breaths, Axe found his words. “it’s more than an apology, isn’t it?”

“yes, there might be some paperwork involved. i’d like to work out a deal for their silence.”

Sans was not above coercion and meticulously articulated fear tactics to keep people in check. Sometimes people just needed a … change in perspective. And Sans was happy to oblige. Not that he ever had to play the bad guy all that often. But it was still a tool in his arsenal, and one he would use to protect his family (adopted or otherwise) and the company if need be. 

Apparently Axe had an idea of what that might entail. “seriously boss, a deal? i know how ‘deals’ with you play out. whatever the fuck you’re planning, it’s not necessary.”

“oh, come on, don’t make it sound like i’m going to show them a _bad time_. this is for everyone’s safety. including theirs.” Sans got an idea. “and i might even offer them a _premium_ membership to show them how very sorry we all are.”

The line was deathly quiet. And while Axe made no indication that he didn’t like that idea, Sans just _knew_.

“can i make a request?”

Sans clicked his teeth in contemplation, trying to buy time to suss out what he thought the request might be. Sans always prided himself on his ability to read people and by extension always having the proverbial upper hand in any situation. _He_ knew, that Axe knew that there was no leverage for the fractured skeleton going into this. Sans didn’t owe him anything and had no obligation to accommodate him after what was a _colossal_ fuck up on his part. _what card could he possibly have to play?_

“i don’t see why not. _axe_ away.” 

The pun went ignored. To Axe’s credit, he’s heard that one a thousand times.

“i’m gonna be in the room with you when you meet lamb chop.”

Sans had to fight back an undignified snort. At both the interesting nickname for this “not friend human” and the fact that his “request,” was not a request at all. Sans did try to reign in his composure but truthfully, he found this whole conversation to be terribly amusing and was looking forward to running it by Papyrus later to get his take on things. “i’m sorry, who?”

Sounding flustered, Axe barked out the human’s actual name, grumbling incoherently afterwards. There was no denying now that Axe cared for this human. While that alone was not the worst thing in the world, it could lead to work-related things getting… messy. And Sans wanted to avoid the _bad_ kind of messy. 

“i have no problem with you joining us. but let me ask you, what is this human to you?”

Axe didn’t respond right away. Sans could hear the familiar clicking of teeth on the other end. _oh stars,_ Sans thought. _we really are copies._.

“nothing really. just a human whose company isn’t complete garbage. socially awkward enough to be accepting of monsters and odd situations without much push back; and socially competent enough to be a riot at the bar.” 

Yeah, Sans was very much not convinced. 

“do you have plans to see them again?” _just how deep in it are you?_

Axe answered reluctantly. “yes.”

_shit._

Sans knew he was about to be a dick and would most certainly be hitting a nerve here; insinuating that their friendship, or whatever it was (oh stars please let it be just friendship) was one-sided, but there was always hope.

“mmm, through their own volition? i’m surprised. you’re not the softest of characters. or maybe you coerced them? your temperament has been known to change on a dime, making things… _intense_. i’m sure you’d agree that to most your presence is a bit, unsettling. maybe they felt they couldn’t say no to your offer of 'friendship'?

Axe took that as well as could be expected. “fuck you! what are you implying? that after what i put them through i’d have the gall to _force_ them to hang around me? do you really think that’s who i am, you oven-bodied asshole?! that i’m some kind of degenerate?”

 _no_. 

Sans laughed, ignoring Axe’s rage and insults. “no, not at all! and wouldn’t _that_ be calling the kettle black? mmm, that reminds me… i need to call black. moving on.” Sans switched to a tone that hopefully conveyed the conversation was nearing its end. “i’m happy you’ll be joining us, the more the merrier. and don’t worry, i’ll call you back and let you know when they’re coming over. lovely chat, as always my friend.” Sans practically sang the word, “Byeeee!” Then promptly ended the call.

_well fuck._

_that idiot actually likes them. a lot._

_oh well. as long as they aren’t having sex, axe is pretty unlikely to get that attached. and it’s not like i can police who axe sees on his own time. everyone is free to live their own lives here._

It’s not that Sans doesn’t want his… are cousins what they were going with these days? Sure. It’s not that he doesn’t want them to be happy, it’s just that he has put a lot of time and energy into this company, and he and Papyrus are only a few years off from an early retirement if things continue to go smoothly. Potentially losing any of his field staff because they found a partner (while adorable) would be a bit of a setback, especially since Paps dropped out to go steady with Mettaton and he himself has drastically cut back on the number of clients he takes.

Paps pulling away from the company is a move which he could never begrudge him. From the moment they finally met in person, his brother’s focus shifted from joining the Royal Harem to getting closer to Mettaton. Sans knew it was only a matter of time before he pulled away from his duties and the move to the surface after the kiddo broke the barrier only helped to accelerate things. 

And Sans had to admit they we just so freakin’ cute together. All he ever wanted for his little brother was for him to find someone that made him smile like he did when he first saw stars, for the rest of his life. Between Mettaton and all the new family he gained from the machine malfunctioning (which Sans still had suspicions of just how _that_ came to be), Papyrus was no longer lonely. He was the happiest Sans had ever seen him. And that in turn made Sans happy. 

Sans rolled his shoulders back and stretched his neck from side to side. He had been at a desk for far too long today and his body was not so subtly reminding him that he is a creature of action and dynamic intent (despite a natural inclination to be lazy whenever possible). His only remaining task was to call up, (what was their name? _lamb chop_?) and arrange a formal meeting to gain insight on the human’s intent, apologise for the incident and secure their signature on paper stating they will henceforth keep everything a secret. 

Sans wished he had just followed his, heh, _gut_ and came down right away the moment he got the phone call and Comic said he thought that the human walked into the shop. At least that way things would be more in his control. But his brother insisted they let their “More than competent counterparts handle things.” After all, “They are us, and I trust us inexplicably, and so should you.” Eventually, Sans caved to his brother’s wishes and agreed to not intervene immediately. 

Comic seemed to think the human wasn’t going straight to the authorities (oh what fresh hell would have that caused?) and Axe continued about his work week like he hadn’t been _this close_ to being charged with sexual assault. Further still, he was thoroughly taken aback when he read Axe’s completed incident report. The one which stated that Axe, by a predetermined and agreed upon form of apology, had cleaned “the worst mess that ever existed,” in the human’s living room and all was deemed forgiven. 

It made very little sense and Sans was eager to meet the human and gain some insight into this whole debacle. 

His lunch break now thoroughly ruined, Sans found himself calling up the human and patiently waiting for them to answer. Which they didn’t. It just rang and by the seventh ring Sans was sure it was going to go to voice mail. 

_that’s a shame. i’ll just have to leave a message._

There was a clicking noise and the sound of an intake of breath before the answering machine played.

 _Roses are red._  
_Violets are blue. ._  
_If you’re hearing this message, I must have missed you._  
_So leave me a message._  
_Unless you’re a creep._  
_Now brace yourself, here comes the-_

BEEP

Sans had no words. He began to sputter into the receiver as he tried to get his derailed thoughts back on track and suppress his laughter. “heh! heheh h-hi i am calling you - pfffft oh geez.” Sans quickly ended the call, unwilling to let whatever the hell that was continue. He was shaking with laughter now. 

What kind of self-respecting adult has _that_ as their voicemail message? Axe’s previous line about being a certain level of socially awkward made plenty of sense now.

Sans ringing phone startled him from his thoughts; the human was calling him back. He stared at the screen for a moment, taking a couple of breaths before answering. 

“good afternoon, sans speaking.”

“Hi. Umm…” The human gave their name before continuing. “I just missed a call from this number and I’m calling back. Sorry about that, I’m on my lunch break and I was distracted.”

“oh, no need to apologise darling, but thank you for calling me back so quickly. my name is sans; i’m the ceo of vaccumm. do you have a moment to chat?”

He could hear a sharp intake of breath on the line. “Yes, what can I do for you?” Sans noted that their voice got quieter. 

“i’m calling regarding last week’s incident. i was hoping to schedule a time with you to talk about what had happened and give you an apology in person. would you have any free time this week to come to the office? i’d be happy to work around your availability.”

“Oh, umm yeah, I don’t mind dropping by. I get off work at six during the week. I can walk over after that if it’s ok? How about tomorrow? I can be there around six-fifteen.”

_perfect. the sooner the better._

“that sounds splendid darling. i am very much looking forward to meeting you. thank you for your time today.”

“yeah, no problem. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

The human hung up quickly. _hmmm._

Sans couldn’t help but wonder what they would be like when he sees them tomorrow. On the phone, they sounded far more reserved, but maybe that was because of who they were talking to. They certainly didn’t sound like the type of person to become drinking buddies with his more horrific counterpart. 

 

His phone buzzed twice. There were two texts from his brother.

Papyrus: I’m back in the city and have missed you so I’m inviting myself over for dinner tonight. Obviously, I’ll be the one cooking. 

Papyrus: What do you want to eat?

Sans felt is ever-present grin grow lecherous.

*: hey paps, i’m in the mood for some _lamb chops…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not cool Sans, poking at Axe like that.
> 
> That boy has never missed a therapy session and has worked his proverbial ass off to be a patient, softer tough guy that you see today. 
> 
>  
> 
> LC is hella nervous now, but what else is new?


	4. Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus and Sauve chat after work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello I am Lisiqe! Ive been getting back into writing after the past couple months having been pretty bad to me in rl.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this little interaction between the boys.

Door locked, floor swept, the store was now officially closed for the night. Everyone else had skittered off to their various destinations leaving only himself and Sauve behind. Papyrus didn't mind being left to himself, the other versions were still getting used to this world and to him and his brother. He just needed to give them time, after all, it wasn't like they would be leaving anytime soon. Sauve was a version of him from a universe that revolves around dancing, or at least that's how he understood it. 

They weren't friends yet and the only reason Sauve was still here was because he was waiting for Rhythm, another version of his brother and Sauves brother, to come pick him up. Neither knew when he was going to come so Papyrus had stayed behind in hopes to get to know his alternate better, or that would be what he was doing, except for one thing. Sauve was actively avoiding him, avoiding eye contact and purposely staying on the other side of the store. He half expected to be told to leave, but it seemed Sauve rather had someone there than no one at all.

"You know." Papyrus watched as Sauve jumped being startled at the sudden break in the silence. He glared at Papyrus but he just smiled back. "You know, we have a lot in common Sauve."

Sauve had a doubtful look on his face, the look caused him to chuckle and Sauve look away again annoyed.

"I mean it! We both dance afterall." 

With that one statement he had captured Sauves full attention. "Dance? You dance?" It seemed almost like he flipped a switch in Sauve, going from full ignore to full attention.

"Yup."

Sauve stared at him uncertain, did he think it was a trick? "What kind?" Ah, a test.

Papyrus smiled happily before responding. "Pole Dancing." A groan escaped from Sauve interrupting him and just like that the moment was gone. "Also belly dancing." Sauve shook his head and turned his attention back to the window. He seemed he had lost interest. "Oh common, they are both legit forms of dancing, don't be a judgy-wudgy."

"A judgy---what?" Sauve looked so confused.

"You heard me a judgy-wudgy. Just because they aren't like other dances doesn't mean they aren't ones. They don't deserve to be judged by you."

Sauve covered his face with his hands and took in a deep breath. "Alright, fine. I can see you doing Pole dancing, but belly dancing? Don't you need, like, hips to do that? Last time I checked skeletons were just bone."

"We also suck dick for a living honey, magic can give us the things we are missing. Do ectobodies ring a bell? Or are you a purist?" He was curious, he knew where most of the other Papyrus' stood on the stance. Cream puff and Edge both did bare minimum because, as they say, it's a waste of energy. Sugar hadn't formed one yet, not too surprising since he was still too weak from his universe.

Oh Sugar, out of all the other Papyrus' he hoped he would stay behind the most after the machine gets fixed. The little bits they heard really didn't paint a good picture for his universe but he needed to stay focused and seeing Sauve embarrassed caught his attention again.

"I am not ashamed of my body, I am a proud skeleton." The blush grew across his face as he stared Papyrus down but after a few seconds the stare wilted and he looked away from him crossing his arms. He continued in a voice he could barely here, almost like he didn't want to admit to it. "Besides, I don't know how to form one, Rhythm never taught me."

Ah, a way in, a reason to hang out more and maybe become friends later on. Slow and steady wins the race but only if you grasp at all opportunities. "I could teach you, if you want that is."

It was the first time Papyrus had seen Sauve smile so brightly. "Thank you." 

They weren't friends yet but it was a step in the right direction.


	5. The Meeting (Pt 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans tries to negate a friendship with bureaucratic red tape.

Reader’s POV

There was an unfinished bowl of yakisoba on your desk but you paid it no mind. Your priority of lunchtime sustenance took the back burner to that of gossip; the moment you got off the phone with the man who introduced himself as Sans, you texted Axe

*: hey dude, your boss just called and he wanted to schedule a meeting with me. I’m going to be at Vaccumm tomorrow night. 

*: He didn’t seem mad or anything, but I’m a little nervous. Wanna hang out afterwards?

You figured Axe would take a while to respond; he told you mornings and afternoons were his busiest time. But to your surprise, his answer came quickly.

 **Axe:** I know about the meeting

 **Axe:** I’m gonna be there with you the whole time.

 _Oh thank fucking Christ._

You felt much better knowing Axe would be there with you as you met his boss; the CEO of Vaccumm.

The night you met up with Axe and he agreed to clean your living room you had dropped all notions of contacting his bosses regarding the incident. So receiving a call from the higher-ups almost a week after the fact was a bit of a surprise.

Was this meeting _really_ just to say “Hey, sorry about the unwanted hooker showing up at your door and grabbing your ass,” or was this because you accidentally stumbled upon their mysterious (and what you were certain was frowned upon in the eyes of the law) family business?

Your phone buzzed again. 

**Axe:** as for hanging out afterwards, if it’s at the bar and you’re buying, i’m game.

You smiled fondly at the text, happy he agreed to hang out tomorrow night. You had feared that things (you) might be awkward and that you’d lose touch after the day you spent together. To your delight, you’d been in contact every day since he then. He’d text you at least three times a day with some stupid joke he heard or sometimes he asked about your workday. 

Sometimes you would ask him about his. 

Axe never went into any real detail, (not that you were looking for such a thing) and usually chatted about his brother or how badly he was looking forward to his next day off; which, incidentally was Sunday, and was going to be spent with you. 

_Two visits in one week? Are we becoming a creature of social prowess?!_

*: yeesh. Is the meeting going to be that bad? Should I be worried? Will I be locked away for uncovering your top-secret agency? Perhaps strapped to a table with a red laser beam slowly inching closer and closer to my demise? Is the laser from an Orgasm Ray? Axe I DEMAND to be strapped to this table.

You were half-joking of course

… which also means you were half-serious.

 **Axe:** jfc what is wrong with your brain? and keep that nonsense to yourself when you’re here. stars forbid you give these idiots ideas. 

**Axe:** and it’ll be fine so long as i’m there. he’ll probably just want you to sign some shit.

Eh, that doesn’t sound so bad. 

*: alright, if you do your part protecting me from the big, bad boss, I’ll reward you handsomely with the hoochiest of hooch. 

**Axe:** looking forward to it lamb chop. 

You put Skudworth down and proceeded to finish your now cold noodles, mind occupied for the rest of the workday about tomorrow’s meeting. You had only remembered after the fact that you indeed had prior plans after work that you needed to take a rain check on. 

When it was time to pack up for the day, you quietly climbed atop your desk and peeked over your cubical wall; stone-faced and wide-eyed until Sarah jumped in her seat after noticing your uncomfortably piercing, unblinking stare. 

She slid along her desk in a rolley chair to an opened filing cabinet before stuffing two folders inside. “And a good afternoon to you too, Creep Show. My condolences for this place finally sucking away what wispy remains of life you had left in your soul.”

You chuckled and smiled down at her. “I’m skipping out on hotpot tomorrow night. In the heat of the moment I booked a very important meeting tomorrow after work and it would be awkward to reschedule.”

Sarah pffted sarcastically. “You, awkward? No.” Once the filing cabinet was locked up she stood and grabbed her bag from the floor, packing her belongings away. “Sad you’re not coming, but I get it. I’ll let the others know.”

With zero levels of grace, you shimmied off your desk and hollered a quick “thanks” over the wall before packing your things.

The thought of tomorrow’s meeting was still weighing you down a bit. With the right people (Sarah and Axe) you could look back on that night and laugh about it. In fact on more than one occasion the memories would pop into your mind and derail whatever you were thinking about, to your utmost amusement. But the idea of explaining your mistake and your obliviousness (however warranted it may have been) out loud to a stranger was not a comforting thought. 

Still, you couldn’t help but smile; seeing Axe again, now _that_ was a comforting thought. 

 

Sans’ POV

 

Sans stood at the large tinted windows that adorned his office, looking down on the cityscape. It was a cold day and the world around him began to turn white with a dusting of snow. The city looked calm, beautiful, picturesque. He placed a hand on the window and watched as it began to fog up from the residual heat emanating from his bones. 

Absentmindedly he began to draw loops in the condensation that unsurprisingly looked suspiciously like dicks. 

“Sans, I’m heading out now.”

Slowly Sans turned to face his brother, running his four phalanges across his window doodles. 

“Unless you’ve changed your mind? I’d be happy to attend this meeting with you, by which I mean I think I _should_ attend this meeting with you.” Papyrus sighed. “But I will not push the matter if you still feel the same way as before.” 

Papyrus didn’t want to start another argument like the one they had over dinner last night, especially over something so small in the grand scheme of things.

The taller skeleton thought it prudent to still be involved in correcting and apologising for Axe and Sugar’s mistake but his older brother insisted that since he was pulling away from the company he should not be bothered with such things. Reluctantly Papyrus agreed to stay out of it, seeing as his brother was concocting what Papyrus was sure would be some devious plan that he was not yet ready to share. 

“nope.” Was the only answer Papyrus got.

He gave a curt nod and turned on his heels towards the stairs. “Very well, but remembered your promise; you’ll tell me all about it when you get home.”

All Sans managed was to huff some noise in the affirmative and his brother disappeared out of sight. He was very glad his brother decided not to press the issue again. 

A glance at the clock told him it was 6:15. They’d be arriving any minute now. Sans retreated to his desk to pull out paperwork from the top drawer; a confidentiality agreement he had written up specifically for this human’s visit and a special new membership application. Should things go well the forms would be signed and Sans wouldn’t have to make this human’s life miserable. 

While waiting for his guests Sans let his mind wander to a matter that had been weighing heavily upon his soul; the company Giftmas Party. Last year it was Sans’ responsibility to plan and execute the party and he had no intention of ever doing so again. Ever. It almost killed him. Planning (containing) a staff party for 16 plus skeletons; half of whom had the alcohol tolerance of Dionysus, (the god of drunken debauchery) and the other half who got wasted on condiments was no small feat. 

Sans relished a good party; music, flirting, table dancing, but _he_ wanted to be the one featured in the photos passed around the office the next morning. Not the one responsible for setting up and tearing down. The one in charge of making trips to Grillby’s for food. The ‘responsible’ adult fluttering about like a mama bird. 

He wanted to have fun this year.

The original plan was to pass that job off to Black or even Rhythm ages ago but it had completely slipped his mind. Now with Giftmas less than a month away he was unsure which sucker he could rope into it who _wouldn’t_ smash the office to bits at the hefty last-minute task. 

Thinking about the elevator still made him sad; that was a prime quickie location. Never to be used again, probably. 

Sans perked up from his musing when he heard footsteps in the stairwell. 

_show time_

The metal door swung open and out came the infamous ‘Lamb Chop’, with Axe hot on their heels.

Sans huffed internally. He expected…. _more_ from the fabled human who presumably had Axe wrapped around their little finger. They looked, normal? Plain? 

Their clothes looked professionally boring. 

_what a drag_ Sans supposed that he’s to blame for his disappointment at the lacklustre human. He did psyche himself thinking he was dealing with some secret bitch heeled, leather spike studded, take no prisoners kind of human. 

Appearances aside they also looked nervous. Their eyes were wide since the moment they entered the room. Sans didn’t miss how their posture was ever so slightly gravitating towards Axe as if they were ready to hide behind him at the first sign of trouble.

Sans came out from behind his desk, hand extended out and closing the remaining distance. He welcomed the human by name. “hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The human offered their had without hesitation and gave a hearty shake. 

_at least their grip is solid_

Sans fully anticipated the concerned look they gave as their hands clasped. His bones were always in a constant state of heat compared to the rest of the skeletons that were not native to this universe. 

“The pleasure is all mine.”

Sand shot a glance at Axe and noticed how he bristled at the contact they made. An evil thought popped into his head but Sans thought better of it. As much fun as it would be to razz Axe a little, he didn’t want to upset the human. Especially given the nature of why they’re here in the first place. Sexy dips, wandering hands, bedroom eyes and innuendo was unlikely to go over well. Best to be on good(ish) behaviour. 

Sans broke the contact before speaking up. “thank you for taking the time to see me so quickly. the anticipation of meeting you was driving me stir crazy. please,” he took a quick step towards the human, wrapping one hand around their waist and gesturing towards the purple sectional and chairs at the far end of the office with the other. “why don’t we make ourselves more _comfortable_? i want you to feel right at home here.”

Axe cleared his throat at the suggestion. “how bout we keep this short and sweet boss? no need to eat up all our time. lamb chop has places to be tonight. ain’t that right?” Axe’s posture and tone remained casual, giving no signs of the fractured skeleton’s irritation as he took a lazy step backwards to Sans desk, hand outstretched to his friend. 

 

The human nodded in the affirmative and broke contact with Sans. Axe direct them to the two chairs in front of his desk. 

_party pooper ___

__“i suppose you’re right.” Sans walked to his desk and sat down, propping his head lazily on one of his arms. “please, take a seat.”_ _

__As the two of them began to sit down Sans took the time to observe. Axe, despite a lax posture, had his hands balled into tight fists. He was leaning forward ever so slightly as if to be in a better state to propel himself in front of the human. Or at Sans._ _

___how cute that axe dropped the act and was just using that name now_ _ _

__‘Lamb Chop’ was sitting ramrod straight with their hands in their lap, looking intently at the sheet of paper on the desk. Sans figured their discomfort had more to do with the meeting than being in the presence of another monster._ _

___though really, as jarring at it is for humans to see skeletons monsters, once you’ve seen axe or even edge for that matter, any other skeleton looks like a marshmallow by comparison._ _ _

__“so, regarding last week, how are you doing? the night as i hear it, was very hard on you.” Sans’ eyes flitted over to Axe before coming back to the human. “are you ok?”_ _

__The human cleared their throat before resending. “Yup. I’m doing just fine, I wasn’t hurt or anything. The whole thing was a little nerve-wracking.” Sans didn’t miss how Axe deflated slightly at their words. “But it all worked out. I’m certainly not upset or anything.”_ _

__“i’m so very glad to her that. but all the same, i would like to formally apologise for the scare and what was most certainly a traumatizing evening. all of us here feel awful about it.”_ _

__“Oh, thank you, but really, it’s all water under the bridge. There is no need to be sorry. Axe and I came to, an agreement.”_ _

__Sans did not miss the slight colouring of red on Axe’s cheeks or the way the human smiled and broke eye contact to look over at Axe. It was a tight smile. Like one you wear when you’re trying not to smile but you can’t help yourself._ _

__Axe to his discredit had stopped the habitual motions of breathing, turning statuesque at their words._ _

___oh fuck. did they actually sleep together?! ____ _

_____Stars help me. What kind of person fucks the guy who barges into their house and tries to force a sexual encounter? What is wrong with this human?_ _ _ _ _

____Sans’ voice came out strained. “how fortuitous that you and axe have established a … _friendship._ it seems like things could not have tuned out better. but what, may i ask was this _agreement?_ ” Sans tried to lock eyes with Axe._ _ _ _

_____look at me axe. look into my eyes and give me a sign that your “apology” was not sleeping with this poor human. it’s tasteless. it’s tactless. it’s some shit i would have pulled in my younger days back underground._ _ _ _ _

____Axe refused to look up from his lap._ _ _ _

____While sounding very sheepish, the human answered tight way. “The weekend prior I hosted a party with a small group of friends. At some point in the evening a small Earthquake hit the city and, ahem, shifted some of my belongings about. Now we may have indulged just a teensy bit too much beforehand and were not of a sober enough state to mitigate the damages.”_ _ _ _

____Axe was stone-faced but his shoulders were bouncing slightly, an indication he found this bullshit story to be hilarious._ _ _ _

____“funny, i didn’t notice an earthquake last week.”_ _ _ _

____“Yeah it was a like a baby-sized quake. Most people didn’t notice, but at any rate, it happened and it wrecked my living room and I needed a vacuum to clean it and that’s how I met Axe. And when we talked again after the initial…” The human paused to search for the right word. “Contact. Axe agreed to clean up the room by way of apology. A feat which I assure you more than makes up for the ass grabbing.”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____“i’m sorry, i’m just having a hard time picturing how performing a small household chore negates what could arguably be called sexual assault. how does that make any sense?” Sans wanted to refrain from calling it sexual assault, but he needed to tray and paint a clear picture._ _ _ _

____At his question, both of his guests spoke up._ _ _ _

____“small house old chore my non-existent ass! boss, this company ever starts to go belly up i could keep it afloat with the miracles i performed that day. it took me four hours to clean _one room._ ”_ _ _ _

____“The thing is, even after the earthquake there may have been more at play. Call it human error if you will but ‘The Mess’ became a way of life. We had shifted from a house party to a trash the house party and-“_ _ _ _

____Sans put up a hand and cleared his throat, indicating he wanted silence._ _ _ _

_____who the hell talks over each other like that?_ _ _ _ _

____“i still don’t, uh. ok. so, there was a mess in the living room. how bad could it have been?”_ _ _ _

____Again, they both sat there like idiots taking over each other; rendering the conversation useless. Like a tidal wave of word vomit, directed right at Sans._ _ _ _

____“First off it wasn’t my fault. I was being a gracious host and made punch which was VERY MUCH NOT SPIKED when the night began, but then Sarah had this bright idea to watch American Gladiator and wanted to demonstrate feats of strength by punching holes in my drywall – “_ _ _ _

____“think of a witch coven witch black magic and shit. ya know how they have those pentagrams on the floor to sexily summon, i dunno, demons? well it worked, probably, but the demon was half ostrich, half tornado and it laid waste to the – “_ _ _ _

____……. _yeah, no_ _ _ _ _

____“stop! two words! you each get two words to describe the situation.”_ _ _ _

____Again, they both answered at the same time._ _ _ _

____“Drunken regret.”_ _ _ _

____“sex cult.”_ _ _ _

____San had to fight back a laugh as he crossed his arms, feeling a genuine smirk tug at his ever-present grin. “axe, i specifically asked you to describe the human’s house; not this place.”_ _ _ _

____The human reacted with a full-bodied laugh before muttering a quite “zing” under their breath._ _ _ _

____Axe leaned over in his chair and pushed them with his shoulder, forcefully knocking them to the side. Giddy was not a look Sans could say he ever saw on Axe before._ _ _ _

____Once their giggling was under control the human spoke up. “Honestly that’s all there is to it. My place got trashed, Axe fixed it up and here we are. All is forgiven. I promise.”_ _ _ _

____Before Sans could reply, his phone buzzed. He looked to Axe who had a smug grin on his face and gave his chin a nod forward. He opened his messenger app and saw picture after picture of what most certainly was the human’s living room._ _ _ _

____Close-ups of dark fluids on the walls, piles and piles of miscellaneous debris and feathers, and horrors that Sans could not fully decipher all the carnage from grainy phone pictures alone._ _ _ _

____One last picture came through; the human standing in their spotless living room, a huge grin on their face._ _ _ _

____He looked down in awe at what, even in poor resolution, was a mess that had far surpassed that of even last year’s Giftmas party. Sans felt his body rock with laughter and stared incredulously at the human whose face grew concerned. They were looking back and forth between the two skeletons who were absolutely starting to lose their shit._ _ _ _

____Sans howled. “oh stars axe, it’s like being transported back to waterfall!”_ _ _ _

____“i know right? add a little bit of floodin’ and you would never know the difference.”_ _ _ _

____The human finally clued in. “Oh my god did you take pictures? WHEN did you take pictures!?” They shoot up from their seat and turned on Axe who had begun to laugh hysterically as they shook his shoulders back and forth. “I trusted you. We were supposed to take this secret to our graves. Delete those photos right now!”_ _ _ _

____The human looked very unimpressed at they sat back down, glaring dagger at Axe._ _ _ _

____“what’s a matter lamb chop, you look down in the _dumps_.”_ _ _ _

____“come on axe, stop _trash_ talking the human.” _ _ _ _

____“i’m just _messing around_ , i mean no harm.”_ _ _ _

____“you’d better _clean_ up your attitude buddy.”_ _ _ _

____“Fuck you both. I like puns, but not at my expense.”_ _ _ _

____Axe could not muster the fortitude to reply. He could only laugh._ _ _ _

_____oh, poor human. they are never going to live this down._ _ _ _ _

____Sans stifled his remaining giggles and sat up straighter in his chair. It seems all was forgiven between the two in front of him and Axe really did just make an unlikely friend out of a strange human. And organically no less._ _ _ _

____All his fears about having to coerce the human’s silence absolved; he was sure they would cooperate and become a member. Sans also noted how relaxed they seemed now compared to their initial contact even though they were clearly still embarrassed. He suddenly wished Rhythm was here so he could flex his empathetic abilities and let Sans know if what he was reading off the human was indeed genuine happiness._ _ _ _

_____ok axe we’ve had our fun. Let’s leave lamb chop alone._ _ _ _ _

____Sans gave the human a wink before sliding one of the piles of paper on his desk forward. “let’s move this along. i have here a confidentiality agreement that i would like you to sign. you can go ahead and give it a read through. to sum it up it basically says that you agree not divulge any information about this company, it’s activities or it’s workers to anyone, in any form. not only for the safety of our workers but for clients as well. i’m sure i don’t have to go into details about why we keep the kind of business we do here under wraps?_ _ _ _

____They nodded in the affirmative while grabbing the sheets. “Yeah. The grey areas of the law regarding selling sex aside, monster-human relations ships are still hugely taboo in the mainstream. If word got out it could cause you a lot of trouble to say the least.”_ _ _ _

____“exactly. our company has done well up here on the surface, and my brother and i, and everyone for that matter.” Sans gave Axe a pointed look, “have contributed to its success. so, lc, can you agree to these terms?”_ _ _ _

____The human’s face scrunched up in confusion before the connection of the name ‘LC’ was made. They gave a half-hearted chuckle and rolled their eye. “I’m more than happy to agree to that. I’m not really a ‘read every word’ kind of person and I don’t think I’ve ever fully read a terms of service contract in my life. Can you just promise me there is no clause in here that says I’ll give you my first-born child?”_ _ _ _

____At that thought Axe ripped the papers from the human’s hand an began to read, suddenly suspicious of the forms. “give me that! you can’t just sign shit without reading.”_ _ _ _

____“My hero.”_ _ _ _

____“great, while axe checks my integrity and peruses for any sexy loopholes i’ll chat about this other form. for all the trouble you went through, if it’s something that would interest you, i’d like to offer you a lifetime’s premium membership at vaccumm at no expense. normally memberships cost an annual fee but it’ll be waved of course. and you would have the ability to hire any of the working field staff.”_ _ _ _

____The human froze and just stared at him. Sans could practically _see_ the wheels turning in their head as he continued to explain._ _ _ _

____Axe didn’t bark any orders or step in but he looked very much opposed to the idea. His eyes reluctantly returned to the papers in his hands._ _ _ _

____“if you’d like to be a member i have more forms for you to read through and sign that breakdown the hiring process, the expectations we have for our clients, expectations we have of staff. it also dives into what you can ask for and what’s off-limits and any other small rules.” Sans touched the tip of each phalange as he listed off each point._ _ _ _

____Sans had implemented a clause in the membership application that stated you could not have a relationship with any of the worker outside of a business relationship. No purposely seeing clients outside of official paid work. If the human takes the membership offer, whatever they and Axe have is over and can never come back to bite him in his proverbial ass._ _ _ _

____When Axe made a move to address his thought Sans spoke over him._ _ _ _

____“please lc, consider it my way of making everything up to you. you’re the first person to ever receive such an offer.”_ _ _ _

____Axe inhaled sharply before trying to protest. Again, he was cut off. This time by the human._ _ _ _

____Their voice was soft as they addressed him. “So Axe, how’s that form looking? All kosher?”_ _ _ _

____Axe dropped it on the table in front of them. ‘s fine.”_ _ _ _

____Without any hesitation, the human grabbed the nearby pen, signed the papers and pushed them towards Sans. Then they stood up from their seat and motioned for Axe to stand as well. He stood up quickly, delighted at the prospect of leaving._ _ _ _

____Thank you Sans. It was really nice meeting you and I’m grateful for your offer, but I’m afraid I’m not interested at the moment.” The human leaned forward, sliding the unsigned stack of papers back towards Sans before extending their hand to him._ _ _ _

____He hoped the disappointment he felt didn’t show on his face as he stood up and firmly shook the human’s hand._ _ _ _

____“of course lc, and i promise you, the pleasure was all mine. i guess you and axe will be off now?”_ _ _ _

____The fractured skeleton had already walked halfway to the stairwell, patiently waiting for his friend to join him. “yeah, s’like i said. they have stuff to do. come on lamb chop. ‘s gettin’ late. i’ll walk you there.”_ _ _ _

____As the human’s grip in his hand began to go slack Sans quickly pulled them in over the desk and leaned down to whisper in their ear. “if you ever change your mind honey, the offer still stands.”_ _ _ _

____The human looked at little flustered at the abrupt close contact but quickly regained their composure. They gave San a big smile and a murmured “Sure,” before walking away._ _ _ _

____Axe made a show of wrapping his arm around the human’s waist as he lead them to the door. Sans watched as Axe waved farewell, with one last look over his shoulder, a smug expression of victory spread across his face, the door closing behind them._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Axe’s POV_ _ _ _

____Axe found the difference between this walk to Grillby’s and the one he had with his new friend last week, staggering. This walk was pleasant despite the chilly air and filled with comfortable chatter._ _ _ _

____Now that the meeting was done with and their annoyance about the pictures being shared had waned, the human was trying their best to come up with more garbage puns._ _ _ _

____“You had to _scrub_ away my sins? No, how about you _swept_ me off my feet that night! Eh! Ehh?” _ _ _ _

____Axe laughed at their enthusiasm and finger guns. i appreciate that you can appreciate a good pun. if you didn’t i’d have to kick you to the curb.”_ _ _ _

____Lamb Chop gasped. “Are you saying I’m _disposable_!?”_ _ _ _

____“nah, but you’re not up to my level. sorry to tell you lamb chop; all your puns are rubbish. and we made it.” Axe opened the door to Grillby’s and held it open as the human stepped inside._ _ _ _

____The sound of thundering applause and hollering greeted them. A monster that Axe recognized at this universes Drunk Bunny has just begun to walk off the stage as Brib, the bird monster who Axe was _pretty sure_ lived here, walked to the mic stand. _ _ _ _

____“Whooo! Let’s get another round of applause for DB! Now our next performer leaves _nothing_ to the imagination, please welcome Jax!”_ _ _ _

____Again the bar erupted in excitement. Without skipping a beat Axe sauntered to their usual spot at the bar and waved at Grillby as he sat down. It took him a moment to notice that Lamb Chop hadn’t followed him over and was staring awestruck at the monster who began their set._ _ _ _

____After a few moments, they snapped back to reality and made their way to the barstool beside him._ _ _ _

____“Axe, what’s going on? Why are there strippers here? When was that stage put in? There’s pole dancing here?” They shook their head as if to recalibrate their brain and have things start to make sense again. “This can’t be the same bar.”_ _ _ _

____“uh, yeah? it is.”_ _ _ _

____“But how? When the hell did that show up?” You motioned with both hands to the stage where a wispy monster with a long pointed black hat and black curled heels had one slender leg stretched up and wrapped around their neck._ _ _ _

____“hmm. i’m gonna chalk your severe lack of awareness of your surroundings up to shock from the circumstances.”_ _ _ _

____The human shook their head disbelievingly, eyes still fixated on the performance._ _ _ _

____“lamb chop, this exact monster took the stage halfway through that night. how do you not remember? why did you think everyone was screaming their heads off?_ _ _ _

____“I got nothing buddy. There are no memories rattling around in this brain of mine outside of us knocking back shots, the shame I felt when I propositioned you for sex and the excitement I felt when you agreed.”_ _ _ _

____“stars lamb chop. are you usually this much of a space cadet?”_ _ _ _

____“I wandered into your hooker shop to buy a vacuum Axe, you tell me!”_ _ _ _

____Axe laughed at his new friend as they continued to watch the show; clapping and hollering at each flourish of legs or shimmy of hips. Grillby came by and dropped off three drinks. A bottle of ketchup, and a Caesar and water. The fire elemental had long since known his drink of choice, and apparently remembered lamb chop’s drink as well._ _ _ _

____Axe nodded towards him. “thanks, buddy.”_ _ _ _

____“Axe are you seeing this? Look at those orb thingies! This is amazing!!” The excitement in their voice was adorable._ _ _ _

____The fractured skeleton contemplated his current situation; favourite drink in hand and a good friend by his side. Yeah, he could get used to this._ _ _ _

____He felt his phone buzz and fished it from his pocket. It was Sans._ _ _ _

____**Boss:** feel free to invite lamb chop to the company giftmas party. i want this year's to be equal parts memorable and fucked up. _ _ _ _

____Axe didn’t bother to reply and pocketed his phone; amused and slightly suspicious at the request. He knew the boss would still be wary about their friendship because he thinks it will grow into something more._ _ _ _

____But it won’t. Meeting this human turned out to be a very serendipitous encounter and Axe wasn’t going to mess it up with feelings._ _ _ _

____“Axe. How much would I have to pay you to shake your ass on that stage?”_ _ _ _

____Axe took a slow sip of his drink, his ever-present smile growing bigger. “trust me lamb chop, you couldn’t afford me.”_ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans: Sign this totally honest form that will make you more attractive, funnier, add ten years to your life...
> 
>  
> 
> How does it feel to work for a sex cult, Axe?
> 
> Thank you, my lovely friends, for reading! Who would you like to see more of?


	6. Sewing is Harder Than it Seams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axe needs a favor from Sugar.

“What exactly am I looking at?”

Sugars’ brother had messaged him earlier in the afternoon that he needed a favor and would be swinging by shortly. He expected it to be chore related, like feeding his silly pet rock or picking up clothes from the dry cleaners. Which is why he was so surprised to see a small box filled with bits of cloth and fluffy white stuffing.

“it’s a cat.”

“Sans don’t lie to me. It’s not becoming.”

“nah, bro, it WAS a cat. a stuffed toy.” As if for emphasis, Axe picked up the cat head and gave it a shake. One of its loose eyes bobbled up and down by a black thread. The other was missing. 

Sugar bent down at the waist and squinted. “Hm. I suppose that is in the realm of possibility.” Tentatively, Sugar picked it up by once of its greenish ears and stood back to his full height. The stitches that held the ear to the head was coming lose so Sugar balanced the head in his palm, his other hand holding his chin inquisitively. “Follow up question, WHY am I looking at it?”

“this is that favor i had mentioned earlier. would you be able to patch this sucker up for me? i grabbed all the original fabric i could find but you’d probably need to supplement it with some of your own.” 

Axe knew that his brother took up sewing like a fiend to keep occupied and get far away from any thoughts that reminded him of his time in their Underground. He had thrown himself completely into what he called the “domestic arts”. If anyone could get this hush puppy patched up it’d be his awesome brother. 

Sugar blinked and looked at Axe like he had just been asked if he could tie his shoes. “Well, of course I can. This would be child’s play to someone with my skills. But I still don’t understand WHY? Where did it come from and why would you want to fix this?”

Axe sighed and hoped his brother wouldn’t read too much into his intentions. “it belongs to lamb chop. it’s called kitty baby and it’s special to them, so i wanted to get it patched up. and because it’s special, i don’t want my grubby mitts anywhere near it. you know i can’t sew for shit. how long would it take?”

Sugar carefully placed the head back in the box his brother was still holding and took the box from him and scowled at his brother. “First off language. And yes, I will make this _‘Kitty Baby’_ look better than it ever has. If you really need it back today I can possibly finish it off in a couple of hours. Secondly, sewing really isn’t that hard. You just refuse to practice.”

Axe ignored his brothers first comment. “ideally, yeah, i’d like it back today. you probably got bout four or five hours before i’d need to pick it up and return it” Axe said before looking at his brother with a crooked grin. 

“Sans no.”

“come on bro, you know it would be _spoolish_ of me to try.”

Sugar huffed. “Very well, brother, leave it to me. Now get out please.” With that Axe blinked from his presence with his space time japery, leaving him to feel very happy that his brother both reached out to him for help and needed assistance with something that seemed quite noble. Sugar smiled, he was proud of all the progress Axe had made since coming here. 

Peering back into the box, Sugar realized that the amount of remaining stuffing would not be enough to fatten up the kitty back to its former glory and it needed a replacement eye. Sugar mused dramatically to himself, “Oh no! A trip to the craft store? Poor me! How will I go on?”

Sugar straightened his back and widened his stance defiantly “Nyahaha! It was sarcasm which I am an expert in!! I love Micheal and all his fantastic wares. I have yet to meet the man in person, but I am huge fan of his atelier!” Sugar proclaimed to no one.

After placing the box behind the back-counter Sugar made a quick list of all the items he could grab from home and those that he would need to pick up at the craft store. He flipped the Vaccumm store sign to CLOSED and tacked on the sign that said they would reopen in thirty minutes before locking the doors and setting off towards his home; an obvious spring in his step.

Friendship sewing was his favourite kind of sewing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading lovely people. We all really appreciate it
> 
>  
> 
> HT! bros are good guys and no one can convince me otherwise. 
> 
> _reader points to piles of bloody human carcasses_ "What about tho-"
> 
> GOOD GUYS!! D:<


	7. Thoughtless Murmur (Pt 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sugar is gently forced into dance lessons at the ever-busy hands of Pink. Can he take what he has learned and help mend the rift between two of his closest friends?

Never in a million years did Sugar think he would ever find himself in a studio late at night, dancing until his bones ached and sweat dripped down his neck. While he was no expert on the matter of Latin dancing, Sugar couldn’t help but beam with each fast-paced step and twirl he took. And if for a moment, he thought all his efforts were not enough, that all the late-night lessons were in vain, the genuine smile on his instructor’s face was all the satisfaction he needed.

At first, Sugar was reluctant to join in with Pink and Suave, having had no previous dancing experience. He often worried about making a fool of himself in front of his counterparts, even though he knew them both to be kind and encouraging in their own way. So hesitantly he accepted the offer (which if he was being honest, since Pink was at the helm, he didn’t have a say in the matter anyway) to join them twice a week in the dance studio on the third floor of Vaccumm.

Initially, the dance lessons were Pinks idea, and it was only Pink and Suave in attendance. One of Pinks many successful and conniving ways to get closer to Suave and to keep him happy (because Suave was _never_ happy). 

One evening Pink got it out of him that dancing was special in the world he and his brother came from and Pink was set on using that information to build their relationship. After only a few months of Pink and Suave dancing together, a hesitant but eventual friendship blossomed and Pink had enthusiastically suggested including Sugar in their bi-weekly ritual. 

Sugar presumed the reason Pink would insist on his joining was Pinks's way of aiding in his social rehabilitation. Not that he was really in need of that anymore; he and his brother both finished a very critical year of therapy and neither of them was a danger to others. Or themselves for that matter. His brother had finally dropped the nasty habit of tugging at his eye socket and head wound; whether it had been as a coping mechanism, or just to purposefully gross people out. 

Regardless, the gesture to open their once private lessons to him was sweet, and he was honored. And Suave (never one to be thrilled by much in this universe) was quite content to have a new partner to share his passion with.

The first dance he learned was Salsa. It was a fast-paced and energetic kind of dance that Pink took to readily (he was the one who had begged to Suave to teach Salsa lessons), and often left Sugar’s head spinning.

Suave, for all his showboating and at times, holier than thou attitude, was a very enthusiastic and caring teacher. While maybe not as patient as Pink with day to day things, he never chastised Sugar when he tripped over his feet or needed to be run through the steps _just one more time_. 

By the end of the first month, Sugar started to incorporate his enjoyment of dance in his everyday life. He now was noticeably more flexible and made stretching a part of his morning routine. While baking, or even alone at work he would quietly hum out the tune of their practice number, spinning on the spot, sliding a leg to the side to dip low while waving a hand in the air high with a flourish. He delighted in his improvements and thoroughly enjoyed his lessons and the time spent with Pink and Suave. By the end of the third month, and subsequent end of the Salsa lesson, Sugar considered them both to two of his closest friends on the strange surface he now called home.

In addition to actual dance lessons, Suave imparted knowledge of his universe on them. A sort of history lesson woven in with the dancing. The very essence of dance monsters, their power, their attacks, their mercy, and their _love_ all stemmed from their ability to manifest their soul’s energy into an expression that transcends mere physical movement. 

The way Sugar understood it, dancing was a tremendously important part of monster culture and integral to a monster’s physical wellbeing. Without dancing their magic kind of backs up in their soul and grows stagnant in a way that’s uncomfortable at best, and deadly at worst.

Sugar also learned that each monster had what was referred to as soul song. A frequency which was wholly unique to them, but in some instances, could blend so perfectly with the soul song of another, that when combined they gained a fundamentally deep understanding of each other. This was called resonating and it was very special. 

While that was all very fascinating and made him smile to think of such a peaceful and beautiful universe filled to the brim with frolicking monsters, Sugar could not help but also feel troubled. His roommate, and practically second brother by this point, Rhythm chose not to dance anymore. And learning about the negative impact not dancing was having on his soul broke Sugars’ metaphorical heart.

He learned through his brother Axe, that Rhythm used to be quite adept at hip hop dancing, but for whatever reason, he never indulged in his universes custom. Sugar would often be lost in thought, considering what he should do about Rhythm and his lack of dancing. Should he even bother asking him about it? Rhythm was growing quite close with Sugar, but did he tended to act cold and distant when his brother or homeworld was brought up in conversation. 

And with this new-found knowledge, Sugar noticed just how _off_ he had begun to look. His eye lights were always fuzzy and his breathing was often labored for no apparent reason. He looked tired, perhaps even sickly, and it was stressing Sugar out. What if this was the signs of a sickness festering in his soul? For now, Sugar would wait and try to come up with a way to reunite the dance brothers. 

 

The week before the Salsa lessons were scheduled to end, the three skeletons gathered outside their studio space to discuss what Suave should teach next. Pink was bound and determined to make up a lesson plan for pole dancing, but had to wait for the dance studio to be fitted with the proper equipment. Suave was less enthusiastic but relented that once the poles were installed Pink could take the reins on those lessons, and even offered to help design a class break down if needed. 

Though Sugar was immensely curious about Suave actually agreeing to learn pole dancing, he wasn’t about to ask how Pink possibly bridged _THAT_ gap. Suave was hyper against anything overtly (and at times even barely) sexualized (a cruel irony, perhaps that _this_ was the universe they found themselves trapped within) and the fact that something as salacious as pole dancing could be on the menu just went to show that personal growth and improvement while in this universe was not only limited to Sugar and his brother. 

A picnic blanket was spread on the ground outside the studio door, (Suave would be damned if any food or drink made it inside his beloved studio thank you very much) and the three skeletons were happily munching away on various snacks. 

Suave broke the comfortable silence that had formed while they ate. “Seeing as pole dancing lessons won’t be possible until after the new year, does anyone have thoughts regarding which type of dance to explore next? I’m of course very well versed in all forms and have a few suggestions, but I value your input.” 

In Sugar’s defense, he had just let his mind wander off when he thoughtlessly murmured hip hop. He only snapped back to reality when he heard Pink make a strangled noise that exuded discomfort. 

_Oh fiddlesticks. That’s Rhythm's signature style._

Sugar felt his face grow hot from his unintentional insensitive comment and tried to backtrack appropriately. “T-that is to say that, I saw on tv-” Suave abruptly stood up and grabbed his water bottle from the ground, cutting Sugar off. 

“My apologies, but I suddenly find myself not feeling well.” His tone left no room for arguments, and Suave, with all the grace of a mountain lion who had been in ballet since it was a cub, spun around on his heels and stormed off towards the stairwell, not bothering to spare them a second glance, he called out, “We shall resume this next week. Goodnight.”

“Oh dear, I really messed that one up, didn’t I?”

Pink gave him a sympathetic look before reaching over to clasp a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, you meant no harm. He’ll cool off in no time. You should just consider yourself lucky you don’t live with him.” Pink said it with a chuckle, but the mood was still soured. 

Sugar began to pack up their belongings when a thought came to mind. “Funny, isn’t it? You spent all that time and money on acclimating my brother and I and the Fells to this world, but the unobvious people who needed it most slipped through the cracks.”

Pink sighed. “Yes, I know. I am trying my best to bring him around. It’s been slow progress, but progress none the less. And how is Rhythm doing these days? I regret I haven’t had much in the way of time to spend with him.”

“Not well. Apparently, he doesn’t dance anymore. I dare say if he is not suffering from that, then he’s at least in pain from a broken heart.”

Pink pulled Sugar into a hug before wrapping a slender arm around his shoulder and walking with him to the exit. “We’ll find a way to bring them together again, my friend. I know we will.” 

 

 

The next day, Sugar has a spectacularly amazing idea to help Rhythm. He texted Suave immediately. 

**S*** Do you have a moment to chat? I was thinking about the type of dance I’d like to learn, and I thought the Tango would suit me quite nicely. 

**Suave:** Really? That’s absolutely my favourite type of dance. It’s what I excelled at back home. Even Undyne was hard-pressed to match my skills. It’s also my style of choice in combat.

 **S*** I can only imagine how majestic your training looked when one has the dance prowess you possess. So, might that be a yes for teaching us the Tango?

 **Suave:** Not only is it a yes, but I shall indulge in using a happiness-face image just this once :D

Sugar wanted to respond that it’s called an emoji, but that was neither here nor there. Getting Suave to teach Sugar _his_ Tango was the easy part. Now he had to give the next steps all his focus and try and perfect this new dance as soon as possible. 

 

 

The Tango lessons commenced and Sugar practiced with renewed fever. The plan was set and he was bound and determined to perfect this dance before the end of December, which truthfully did not give much in the way of time. To compensate Sugar begged Suave to practice with him outside of their weekly classes. Suave objected at first, citing that it would be unfair to Pink, but that concern was quickly discarded when Pink insisted that his feelings would not be hurt, and fully supported the idea. 

But the Tango proved to be a formidable opponent. It took him longer to perfect individual sets, and when he tried to mix all the steps together, they did not blend into a cohesive flow. This routine was far more subdued than the fast-paced Salsa number they learned and it was frustrating for Sugar to flounder at what he thought to be a much easier dance. 

“A moment please,” Sugar sighed. “Just a quick moment.” He retreated to the side of the room and slumped down against the wall. 

“Come now, we’ve only just begun.” 

A quick glance at the clock outed that as a bald-faced lie. They had been here an hour and a half already. 

“In what world have we possibly ‘just begun?’ It’s half-past eight.” 

“Is it now? Or dear it appears to be. Well, time flies when you’re having fun and all that.” Suave faltered for a moment, and looked at Sugar in concern. “You _are_ having fun, aren’t you?” 

“Yes of course. Though truthfully, I’m feeling frustrated. I was much quicker to pick up the Salsa dancing. And at times it feels like I’m just flailing about and getting nowhere at all. It almost feels like it’s a challenge I won’t overcome.”

“That is a good sign, my sweetest friend.” Sugar's face must have said it all because Suave laughed loudly while giving his legs a playful nudge. “You clearly don’t believe me, but I’m telling you; adversity makes the final product much stronger and more beautiful, be it person or dance. If everything came easy, it wouldn’t feel real, wouldn’t be authentic.” Suaves' voice grew softer as he spoke as if he was the only one in the room. “Are our lives measured in steps so easy we barely noticed we are taking them? Or instead by the moments that we pushed ourselves farther than we ever thought our bodies could take us?”

Sugar hummed to hide his surprise at both Suave's kind words and his wisdom. “You can’t expect me to believe dancing doesn’t come easy to your kind. I’ll bet you waltzed before you walked.”

Suave seemed to snap back to his energetic self and laughed before reaching down a hand to Sugar. “And I tangoed before I talked, I’m sure. Come now. Once more with feeling, and then we’ll call it a night.”

Perhaps he gave it too much feeling, as it was well after ten when the duo parted ways for the night. The short walk home through the cold winter air helped Sugar clear all the doubts in his mind. He started seeing himself less like a broken soul with scars that ran too deep to cover up. He cared deeply for his new-found family, and he just knew in his bones that he was going to help Dance and Suave.

For the first time in a long time, Sugar was happy with the monster he had become.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. It means the world to me. 
> 
>  
> 
> JFC Suave, go give your brother a hug already.  
> Because Sugar actually has no idea what he's doing and is flying on the whim of the breezes.
> 
>  
> 
> We have a discord server! Much like every other fic in this place XD.  
> But if you feel so inclined  
> [Swing on by!](https://discord.gg/DG8tZw)


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